Many of modern location-based services are often based on an area or place as opposed to an accurate determination of the precise location. Geofencing approach is based on the observation that users move from one place to another and then stay at that place for a while. These places can be, for example, commercial properties, homes, office centers and so on. As per geofencing approach they could be described (defined) as some geographic areas bounded by polygons. It assumes users simply move from fence to fence and stay inside fences for a while. In this article we replace geo-based boundaries with network proximity rules. This new approach let us effectively deploy indoor location based services and provide a significant energy saving for mobile devices comparing with the traditional methods.

This paper describes an algorithm for discovery of convoys in database with proximity log. Traditionally, discovery of convoys covers trajectories databases. This paper presents a model for context-aware browsing application based on the network proximity. Our model uses mobile phone as proximity sensor and proximity data replaces location information. As per our concept, any existing or even especially created wireless network node could be used as presence sensor that can discover access to some dynamic or user-generated content. Content revelation in this model depends on rules based on the proximity. Discovery of convoys in historical user's logs provides a new class of rules for delivering local content to mobile subscribers.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

"In the future, you have a different phone depending on where you go, and that’s something most of the tech giants seem to be working on." - a very true statement about context-aware computing. From here.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

"Outliers occur regularly enough in real-world measurement data to constitute a significant practical problem that is not adequately addressed by traditional smoothing filters designed to reduce the effects of high-frequency noise. To address this problem, this paper describes a simple data cleaning filter for outlier detection and removal which is based on a causal moving data window that is appropriate to real{time applications like closed loop control." - an interesting paper about online outlier detection

Friday, August 09, 2013

An interesting company - Estimote.
It creates Bluetooth beacons. Each tiny beacon has a built-in Bluetooth 4.0 chip, also called a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The beacon can run for up to two years on a single coin battery. All the hardware is placed into the soft silicone case which has a sticky backside, allowing it to be easily attached to any flat surface like wood, concrete, or glass.

After installation, the Beacons begin transmitting 2.4 GHz Bluetooth® signals, similar to WiFi. They can communicate with smartphones that are as close as four inches away, or as far as 30 feet away.

One remark: actually such a beacon could be replaced by Wi-Fi phone. Our SpotEx approach could be used here.

Just a quote:"We believe the whole indoor-navigation idea is wrong. There is no need to map every inch of the physical world and get X,Y coordinates. It's all about the context and placing tiny beacons in the doors, next to check-out, next to GoPro camera in the Best Buy. They you detect the proximity and the context and trigger an action." It is what SpotEx is about. Why do we need location if we can distribute data on the base of context info?

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

By bringing web analytics into the offline world, merchants can analyze shopper visit data and learn about the behavior and movement of customers in their stores. This data can then be used to optimize the shopping experience, grow key customer segments, and measure the impact that mobile campaigns are having on foot traffic in real-time. Here are five hyperlocal vendors bringing web-style analytics into the real world. - see it here

Sunday, August 04, 2013

The International Journal of Open Information Technologies (INJOIT) is an all-electronic journal with the aim to bring the most recent and unpublished research and development results in the area of information technologies to the scientific and technical societies, and is published by the OIT Lab (Open Information Technologies Lab, Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University).